Tough times for fans of comic book movies continue. First we learned that it was going to be a while before the next installment of the Batman franchise (if there even is going to be one), and now we're learning that Mark Millar and his mysterious big-name collaborator are giving up for now on their attempt to reboot the Superman franchise. How did we ever get to a point where a Superman movie doesn't feel like a safe bet for Warner Bros?

The answer to that question obviously has something to do with the lukewarm reception of Superman Returns back in 2006. A lot of people were bored to tears by that movie. Maybe it was because we like our superheroes a little darker these days. Or maybe fans were unwilling to embrace Bryan Singer's film because this generation prefers to get their Superman fix on the TV series Smallville. Or maybe people stayed away out of feelings of loyalty to the late Christopher Reeve.

There were a number of factors that could have contributed to the failure of Superman Returns, but I refuse to accept the explanation that the Superman character is too "dated" to appeal to this generation. I believe Warner Bros. can successfully reboot this franchise, but they're going to have to rewrite history a little bit, just like the way Superman himself once turned back time to save Lois Lane. They're going to have to pretend Superman Returns never happened (should be easy enough, considering when they made that one, they pretended Superman IV never happened), and give J.J. Abrams another chance to make this film.

This may sound like a crazy idea. When Abrams' original, never-produced Superman script leaked onto the Interwebs several years ago, it was widely panned. Bloggers balked at his plans for an epic trilogy that crossed galaxies and covered a Kryptonian civil war. They hated Abrams' reimagining of Lex Luthor as an X-Files-style agent who would eventually turn out to be another secret son of Krypton. I'll admit that these changes to the iconic Superman mythology sound pretty radical and potentially disastrous. But the leaked script was a first draft, and Abrams was never given a chance to work out the kinks. The project fell apart.

Superman Returns, which picked up the action from Superman III, was made. The mythology was honored and Christopher Reeve look-a-like Brandon Routh was cast in the lead role. And everyone complained it was boring, and didn't take any risks or add anything new to the franchise. I can understand why the guys at Ain't It Cool News and the other blogs were worried about the changes Abrams was going to make to the story, but I can't help feeling they disrupted the creative process and are partly to blame for the less than thrilling result.

However, there is a silver lining to the fact that Abrams' first Superman script was never developed. Instead of allowing Abrams to direct his own story, and fully execute his vision, they were going to pass the directorial duties along to (brace yourselves) Brett Ratner. There's no way things could have gone well for the Man of Steel if his fate had been left in the hands of the man who ruined the X-Men franchise.

But one point I have to make in Ratner's defense is he seemed to have the casting nailed. His choice to play Superman was Matthew Bomer, who kicks all kinds of ass as super-spy Bryce Larkin on Chuck. Bomer is a breakout star waiting to happen, and it hurts to think of what might have been. Ratner's involvement with the project ultimately ended when Warner Bros. freaked over the idea of casting an unknown in the role and tried to insist on using (brace yourselves again) Brendan Fraser. But the entire mess could've been avoided if Warner Bros. had trusted Abrams enough to give him full creative control over the project. Getting out of Christopher Nolan's way certainly worked for Batman. (Another advantage of turning back time and fixing this: Releasing Singer from Superman would've freed him up to save X3 from Ratner!)

Hopefully, Abrams will have the last laugh. Although things didn't work out with Superman, he was later entrusted with the task of rebooting another treasured franchise, Star Trek. And although we still have a few weeks to go until we see how that turned out, all signs are pointing towards it being a success. I for one, have avoided all things Star Trek like the plague my entire life, but can tell from the trailers that this movie looks like something I may enjoy. If Abrams could make something as nerdy as Star Trek look cool, there's no doubt in my mind that he's also the man we need to get Superman flying high again.

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